Department for International Development

Iraq: Islamic State

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that they have sufficient measures in place to meet any humanitarian need arising from military efforts to liberate Mosul from Daesh.

Baroness Verma: Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Iraq. We are the largest contributor to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, which can provide rapid disbursements in the event of crises, such as sudden population displacements resulting from military operations. We have funded a contingency planning specialist to work with the Government of Iraq (GOI), Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the UN to support the humanitarian system in responding to needs arising from military efforts to liberate Mosul. This forms part of wider support by the UK to the GOI and KRG’s crisis response centres which have been developing humanitarian contingency plans ahead of any operations in Mosul.

Iraq: Humanitarian Aid

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any shortfall in international humanitarian funding in Iraq; and what steps they are taking to address that.

Baroness Verma: The UN has launched an appeal for $861 million to meet urgent humanitarian needs in Iraq in 2016. According to the UN, as of 29 March 2016, the appeal is 15% funded. Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Iraq. The UK is the largest donor to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, which allocates funding to the most urgent gaps in the humanitarian response in Iraq. DFID is assessing future support to Iraq through the Bilateral Aid Review process.

Iraq: Humanitarian Aid

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the Department for International Development’s humanitarian effort in Iraq has been transferred to partners and agencies working in Iraq.

Baroness Verma: Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Iraq. With the exception of emergency humanitarian supplies delivered by the UK to Iraq in summer 2014, all of this funding is delivered through UN agencies and NGO partners working in Iraq – including through those who have access to some of the most challenging areas. The Department for International Development does not provide any direct financial support to the Government of Iraq or Kurdistan Regional Government.

Iraq: Internally Displaced People

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of internally displaced persons (1) in Iraq, (2) in Iraq who have returned to their homes, and (3) in Iraq who have left Iraq.

Baroness Verma: As of 28 March, the International Organisation for Migration estimates that there are just over 3.4 million Iraqis who have been displaced by fighting since January 2014. 547,600 individuals are reported to have returned to their homes. We do not hold information on the number of Internally Displaced Persons who have left Iraq because those people leaving Iraq include both IDPs and economic migrants.

HM Treasury

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proposed freeze on duty for Scotch whisky and cider will also apply to Bushmills Whiskey and Armagh Cider in Northern Ireland.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Alcohol duty rates are applied in the same way across the UK. Budget 2016 froze the duty rates on spirits and on still and lower strength sparkling cider.

Block Grant: Northern Ireland

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their revised estimate for the reduction in block grant paid to the Northern Ireland Executive after the introduction of 17 per cent Corporation Tax in Great Britain and 12½ per cent Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The government has legislated to introduce a Northern Ireland rate of corporation tax, so the Northern Ireland Executive must now press on with the reforms necessary to put its finances on the sustainable footing required to complete this process. The Northern Ireland Executive block grant would then be reduced by the amount of tax revenues foregone by the government as a result of devolution (due to direct and behavioural effects). Alongside this, the Executive would retain all revenues from the NI rate of corporation tax. The government’s latest estimate of the impact on the Executive’s budget assumes that the NI corporation tax rate is set at 12.5% from April 2018, and also takes into account UK corporation tax main rates of 19% for the financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 and 18% in 2020-21. On this basis, there is an estimated cost to the Executive in 2020-21 of £275m. These estimates will be updated in due course to take into account the government’s further reduction in corporation tax to 17%.

EU Budget: Contributions

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the annual (1) gross, and (2) net, costs of the UK's contributions to the EU for (a) 2014, (b) 2015, and (c) 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics "Pink Book", and what assessment they have made of those figures.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The outturn figures for gross and net UK contributions to the EU can be obtained from the 2015 EU Finances White Paper, Table 3.B, which is available on gov.uk and from the Library of the House. The ONS Pink Book provides a measure of official transactions with the EU for the purposes of Balance of Payments statistics and cannot be used to establish the UK’s net contribution to the EU.

UK Membership of EU

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Office for Budget Responsibility has produced its own forecast of the consequences of the UK leaving the EU.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) prepares its forecasts on the basis of the current Government policy and does not look at alternative policy scenarios. Government policy is to remain within the EU. Therefore the OBR has not factored into its forecast the impact of a UK exit from the EU.

Financial Services

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the possible consequences for financial stability of the consolidation of central clearing houses.

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have agreed to cross-margining of variable payments through LCH Clearnet and Eurex; and if so, who will be responsible for regulating these separate entities; and whether they have required any increase in capital or margin.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) establishes a strict supervisory framework for CCPs, which in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England. EMIR’s requirements – which continue to apply in the event of a merger or change of control of a CCP – include that a CCP must be sufficiently well-resourced to withstand extreme market events, including the simultaneous default of its two largest clearing members. In the event of a qualifying change of control the Bank of England must under EMIR also assess the suitability of the proposed acquirer and financial soundness of the proposed acquisition. Copies of the Bank of England’s 2016 report on supervision of financial market infrastructures were laid before Parliament on 4 March and are available in the House library.

London Stock Exchange: Deutsche Borse

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to monitor the role of institutional investors in voting their clients' shares regarding the potential takeover of the London Stock Exchange, in order to ensure that this reflects the best interests of the clients rather than the fund manager or related parties.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The regulatory framework governing asset managers requires managers to take all reasonable steps to identify, prevent, manage and monitor conflicts of interest. The Financial Conduct Authority are responsible for the supervision of firms to ensure consumers are protected and treated fairly.

Retail Trade: Non-domestic Rates

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of criticism from the British Retail Consortium that proposed changes in business rates are inadequate.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Government announced at Budget 2016 the biggest ever cut in business rates in England – worth £6.7 billion over the next five years. All ratepayers will benefit from the package and 600,000 of the smallest businesses, including many retailers, will not have to pay business rates again.

Credit Unions

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the legislation governing credit unions.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: On 31 December 2014, the government published a response to the Call for Evidence on Credit Unions. In this response the government committed to considering the potential changes to credit union legislation highlighted by the Call for Evidence over the course of this parliament.

Taxation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to increase or reduce total taxation as a percentage of GDP over the remainder of this Parliament.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast that public sector current receipts (PSCR) will be 36.3% of GDP in 2015-16. As a share of GDP, PSCR is forecast to increase over the remainder of the Parliament. The OBR forecast PSCR to be 36.9% of GDP in 2016-17 and 2017-18, 37% of GDP in 2018-19, and reaching 37.5% of GDP in the final year of this Parliament. However, the Budget represents a net tax cut, worth £3bn over the scorecard period (2016-17 to 2020-21). The Budget backs business with a major overhaul of corporation tax reliefs, a lower corporation tax rate and a big reduction in small business rates.

Private Sector: Debts

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the impact on economic and financial stability of increasing private sector debt as a percentage of GDP and aggregate personal income, and (2) the level at which those ratios would be judged to be too high.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Government does not have an explicit target for the level of private sector debt. However, we established the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC), within the Bank of England, which is empowered to identify, assess, monitor and take action in relation to risks across the UK financial system. This includes risks from private sector debt. The FPC actively monitors developments in the aggregate level of credit extended to UK households and private non-financial corporations, and has the macroprudential policy tools required to address any risk it identifies.

Churches: VAT

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will permit zero rating for church repairs following the decision of the EU Council to allow member states to set a VAT rate of zero.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: Under consecutive governments renovations and repairs have been subject to the standard rate of VAT. The government provides grant aid to support certain church repairs and maintenance projects through the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme which makes £42 million of government support available per year and the Listed Places of Worship roof repair fund worth £55 million in total. More details of these are available online.

Employee Ownership

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation or correspondence they had with companies offering employee share ownership schemes before announcing the withdrawal of HM Revenue and Custom’s valuation check service.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been consulting representative bodies through the Valuation Fiscal Forum over the last 18 months. HMRC has not withdrawn valuation services that are most relevant to employee share ownership schemes. These include:Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI),Company Share Option Plans (CSOP),Save As You Earn share option schemes (SAYE),Share Incentive Plans (SIP) andEmployee Shareholder Status (ESS). HMRC has, however, announced a review of the valuation services for those schemes and is consulting interested parties. HMRC has withdrawn valuation checks for income tax and PAYE that are not part of these recognised employee ownership schemes. Most people submitted acceptable valuations and therefore the valuation service offered was not seen as needed.

Employee Ownership

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they received on the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises’ productivity levels following the withdrawal of HM Revenue and Custom’s valuation check service.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: No impact on the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises is anticipated. HMRC has not withdrawn the valuation service for those share schemes most relevant to these enterprises. These include:Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI),Company Share Option Plans (CSOP),Save As You Earn share option schemes (SAYE),Share Incentive Plans (SIP) andEmployee Shareholder Status (ESS). HMRC has however announced a review of the valuation services for those schemes and is consulting interested parties. HMRC has withdrawn valuation checks for income tax and PAYE that are not part of these recognised employee ownership schemes. Most people submitted acceptable valuations and therefore the valuation service offered was not seen as needed.

Employee Ownership

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UK productivity of the planned withdrawal of HM Revenue and Custom’s valuation check service.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: No impact on UK productivity is anticipated. HMRC has not withdrawn the valuation service for those share schemes most relevant to small and medium sized enterprises. These include:Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI),Company Share Option Plans (CSOP),Save As You Earn share option schemes (SAYE),Share Incentive Plans (SIP) andEmployee Shareholder Status (ESS). HMRC has however announced a review of the valuation services for those schemes and is consulting interested parties. HMRC has withdrawn valuation checks for income tax and PAYE that are not part of these recognised employee ownership schemes. Most people submitted acceptable valuations and therefore the valuation service offered was not seen as needed.

Employee Ownership

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the HM Revenue and Custom’s commissioned research conducted by Oxera on the impact employee share ownership schemes had on the productivity levels of UK firms.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The report “Tax-advantaged employee share schemes: analysis of productivity effects” was prepared for HM Revenue and Customs by Oxera and published in August 2007. The research represents a valuable addition to the evidence base on employee share schemes, but there are important limitations to its scope. While the research uses real measures of company productivity, it does not take into account potential complementary effects or assess the effects of share schemes on other performance measures, such as staff turnover, or in achieving wider objectives such as promoting share ownership.

Interest Rates

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of rising house prices, they intend to make representations to the Bank of England discouraging it from reducing interest rates.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Decisions on the use of monetary policy tools are for the judgement of the MPC.

Contingencies Fund

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the criteria are for payments to be made from the Contingency Fund.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The criteria for access to the Contingencies Fund are set out in the Treasury publication “Supply Estimates: a guidance manual” which can be found on the gov.uk website. The Contingencies Fund enables the Treasury to make repayable cash advances to departments for urgent services, in anticipation of provision for those services being provided by Parliament. The main criteria against which any application is judged is genuine urgency in the public interest and – in cases of new services - near certainty that any related Bill will become law. However, not all advances are dependent upon the passage of enabling legislation: existing legislation may already exist. Advances are generally made in anticipation of the relevant Supply and Appropriation Act.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for the Department for International Development, Desmond Swayne, on 16 March (HC Deb, col 937), whether it is their position that no non-state party is capable of committing genocide under the 1949 United Nations Genocide Convention.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Under Article IV of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III of the Convention shall be punished whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals. Any member of Daesh who has committed an act of genocide is therefore liable to prosecution. Individual criminal responsibility, rather than by organisations or groups, is determined by courts. The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor has set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015.

Islamic State

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by the Minister of State for the Department for International Development, Desmond Swayne, on 16 March (HC Deb, col 937), what assessment they have made of measures required to confer on the International Criminal Court jurisdiction over crimes committed by Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor has set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015. As neither Iraq nor Syria are State Parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC has no territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed on their soil. In order for Daesh’s crimes to be investigated by the ICC, Iraq and Syria would have to declare their acceptance of the Court’s jurisdiction, or the UN Security Council could refer the situation to the Court.

Islamic State

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will respond to, and what is their assessment of, the statement by the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, that Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yazidis and Christians.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, is right to draw attention to the appalling crimes Daesh are committing, both against minority groups and Muslims. We will continue to work closely with the US and our other partners in the Global Coalition to defeat Daesh and to ensure justice for those who have suffered at their hands. It is a long standing UK policy that any judgement on whether genocide has occurred should be a matter for judicial decision, rather than for governments. As Secretary of State Kerry said, “ultimately, the full facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through formal legal determination made by a competent court or tribunal.”

Turkey: Kurds

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Earl of Courtown on 15 March (HL6695), whether they will call on the government of Turkey to compensate civilians killed or injured, or whose property has been destroyed or damaged, by artillery, demolitions, or air attacks not only in Cizre, but elsewhere in Turkey.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We regularly discuss the situation in Cizre and elsewhere in south east Turkey with the Government of Turkey, who have underlined to us their desire to carry out security operations in a careful manner, fully respecting the rule of law. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and our Ambassador to Turkey have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights and avoid civilian casualties. We call for a Kurdistan Workers' Party ceasefire and a return to the peace process. Turkey’s Development Minister has said the government is providing a range of support to those affected and is working on monetary and other forms of compensation for those whose homes and properties have been damaged.

Burma: Demonstrations

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of calls for an investigation into what action should be taken against those in Burma who are responsible for the crackdown by police at the Letpaden meeting of student protesters.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We publicly expressed our concerns at the violence that occurred in Letpadan in March 2015 and supported the EU’s call for a formal investigation to be initiated. The right to peaceful demonstration is a fundamental democratic freedom. Officials from our Embassy and those of other international partners have been attending the protesters’ trials. We look forward to working with the new government in Burma to make improvements across the spectrum of civil and political liberties.

Marshall Islands: Nuclear Disarmament

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why their representatives in the International Court of Justice on 14 March requested the Court to declare that it lacked jurisdiction over the claim brought against the UK by the Marshall Islands, or that the claim is inadmissible, and under what circumstances they believe the International Court of Justice has jurisdiction.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK's representatives requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to declare the case inadmissible because that was our assessment following our analysis of the Marshall Islands’ claim. The detail of the UK’s legal arguments is contained in its written preliminary objections to jurisdiction and admissibility, as filed with the Court on 15 June 2015 and oral pleadings, as delivered at the public hearings held at the Court between 9 and 16 March 2016. The question of whether the ICJ has jurisdiction in a particular set of circumstances is a matter to be determined by the Court on a case-by-case basis in light of the relevant facts.

North Korea: Human Trafficking

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mr Hugo Swire, on 25 February (HC27824), how many joint UK-China projects to counter the human trafficking of North Koreans have taken place in the past three years; what the objectives were of those projects; and what their outcomes were.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have not supported any joint UK-China projects to counter the trafficking of North Koreans in the past three years. Our Embassy in China continues to fund projects to prevent trafficking in general, and we are currently funding a project involving an international non-governmental organisation to address the issue of child trafficking. We also continue to work with the Chinese authorities to prevent Chinese nationals being trafficked to the UK. As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), said in his reply of 25 February, we regularly discuss the range of issues on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with China, and we will seek to include this issue in the next round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

North Korea: Weapons

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mr Hugo Swire, on 25 February (HC27826), whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) relies upon information from the United States Department of the Treasury to ascertain which elements of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea government fund or participate in that country’s nuclear and missile programmes; or whether the FCO conducts its own research into this matter.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government works collaboratively with international partners and organisations to counter the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear, ballistic missile or other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes. This includes sharing information to identify persons and entities responsible for this activity in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions.

North Korea: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 24 February (HL6089), which specific Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ministries the British Embassy in Pyongyang has met with since the release of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on 7 February 2014.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As stated in my previous response, our Embassy in Pyongyang has met a number of officials from various ministries of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea since 7 February 2014, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of People’s Security, the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education.

Islamic State

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks of the Minister of State for the Department for International Development, Mr Desmond Swayne, on 16 March (HC Deb, col 937), whether it is their assessment that the International Criminal Court has not ruled out the possibility that violence against minorities in the Middle East perpetrated by Daesh is genocide.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: I refer you to the press statement made by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor on 8 April 2015, setting out her views on the ICC investigating Daesh.

Genocide

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks of the Minister of State for the Department for International Development, Mr Desmond Swayne, on 16 March (HC Deb, col 937), whether non-state actors can be guilty of genocide, subject to a referral to the International Criminal Court from the United Nations Security Council.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Under Article IV of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III of the Convention shall be punished whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals. Any member of Daesh who has committed an act of genocide is therefore liable to prosecution. Individual criminal responsibility, rather than by organisations or groups, is determined by courts. The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor has set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015.

Israel: Palestinians

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the breakdown of the mediated peace progress between Israel and Palestine, what new proposals or lines of enquiry for a negotiated peace agreement have been developed by their officials in London, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK remains focused on steps which will secure progress towards a two-state solution. We continue to believe that the best way to achieve this is through negotiations. We are in close consultation with international partners about what kind of renewed process might lead to progress.

Ministry of Defence

Army Air Corps

Lord Craig of Radley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Army Air Corps personnel have been asked in the past 12 months to repay retention or other alleged overpayments; and in each case, who was responsible for the error.

Earl Howe: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 23 March 2016 (Official Report, column 2379) to the noble Lord, the Lord Trefgarne.



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Lord Beith: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Bomber Command clasp is not awarded to veterans who served with 205 Group and flew sorties over occupied Europe from Southern Italy, and what recent consideration they have given to this issue.

Earl Howe: We have enormous admiration and respect for the unique contribution and sacrifice made by bomber aircrew who served outside of the UK. Sir John Holmes, in his Military Medals Review, specifically included a reconsideration of recognition for Bomber Command, although he recommended not to award medallic recognition to those who flew from outside the UK. This decision was made independently of the Ministry of Defence and subsequently agreed by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals and Her Majesty The Queen.

Department for Work and Pensions

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Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many National Insurance numbers were in use at the end of each of the last five years for which records are available.

Lord Freud: The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.